Day in the Life of a Correctional Case Records Analyst for DAPO

After making sure an offender is released from state prison “not one day early and not one day late,” the job of the Correctional Case Records Analyst (CCRA) isn’t over.

Offenders who are released to parole for post-release monitoring also have specific review and discharge dates, as well as conditions of parole that must be maintained.

Kristy Weitzel

CCRAs such as Kristy Weitzel work with CDCR’s Division of Adult Parole Operations (DAPO) parole agents to ensure parolees are reviewed on-time and are discharged from supervision exactly when they are supposed to be.

All offenders have a discharge review either after six months for a non-serious/non-violent offense, after one year for a serious offense or after two years for a violent offense. After the review, the parole agent will recommend to discharge or retain the offender under state supervision.

Parole agents receive a master list of parole review cases to be submitted to the Board of Parole Hearings 30 days in advance of the review date. The CCRA monitors the case list and if a case has not been submitted to BPH within 10 days of the review date, the CCRA contacts the agent as a reminder.

If the CCRA fails to notify the parole agent of the review date the offender could fall under “lost jurisdiction” and be automatically discharged from state parole supervision.

If the offender is retained on parole supervision, the offender likely will serve another year on parole, depending on the commitment offense. The CCRA then has to calculate new parole review dates and continue to keep the offender’s file updated.

The CCRA also processes emergency requests, such as suspension of parole if a parolee has absconded or has violated his/her parole terms. When the CCRA is notified by a parole agent to suspend an offender’s parole, the CCRA then notifies the ID and Warrants Unit and a warrant is activated for the parolee’s arrest.

If an offender has not been discharged from parole supervision but rather has come upon his/her controlling discharge date (maximum time served on parole), the CCRA conducts an audit of the parolee’s file to ensure the discharge date is correct and enters the date into the Strategic Offender Management System to let the parole agent know the CDCR number has been discharged.

It takes fine analytical skills to be an effective CCRA.

“We do casework all day long,” Weitzel said. “Our caseloads can range from 2,000 to 3,000 offenders.”

As in the case of CCRAs working inside an institution, the CCRAs in DAPO are the final line in ensuring an offender is discharged not one day early and not one day late.